Manipur: Muslim Man Lynched on Suspicion of Vehicle Theft, 5 Held

A Muslim man from Bangalore was beaten to death by a mob on Friday, 14 September, on suspicion of vehicle theft, in Manipur’s Tharoijam area.

The incident took place after a resident noticed that three men were allegedly trying to steal a two wheeler vehicle parked outside their house.

Once the resident alerted the villagers, the trio tried to flee from the spot using a car. As the car rammed into a nearby post, two men managed to flee from the village, while one man was caught and beaten to death by villagers, the Times of India reported.

The deceased, identified as Md Farooque Ahmad, was an MBA graduate from Bangalore had come to Manipur after receiving start-up grants from the Manipur government.

Following the incident, Manipur police arrested five people, including a personnel of India Reserve Battalion (IRB), the Indian Express reported.

SC to Seek States’ Report on Implementation of Lynching Guidelines

The SP said that the investigation is in its nascent stage and it is yet to be ascertained whether Farooque was involved in the lifting of the vehicle.

Taking the mob lynching into account, a public meeting was held at the locality of the victim in Lilong. In the meeting it was resolved that Ahmad was murdered under false charges and Joint Action Committee was formed to fight for his justice.

The JAC noted that the victim, Md Farooque, was of good moral character and integrity and has no previous records of petty crimes as alledged.

Demanding the facts of the incident, the JAC has also rejected the claims against Farooque for allegedly trying to steal a scooter. The JAC has also taken a note of police inaction despite being present at the spot of the incident. The JAC demanded the guilty police personnel be appropriately punished.

In subsequent development, the mob involved in the lynching incident attacked the the Patsoi police station on hearing that Girani, owner of the vehicle in question, was being detained at Patsoi police station.

The officer-in-charge of the police station sustained injury in the mob attack.